Iga Swiatek won't bring Poland to Billie Jean King Cup glory after Italy, led by Jasmine Paolini, proved to be too strong to overcome.
Both Poland and Italy were led by players who had a great season. While Swiatek's finish of the year as the World No. 2 might be below some expectations, she still won a major and has an Olympic medal.
Paolini's season, on the other hand, has been outstanding. She played in two major finals, and she even has an Olympic gold medal in doubles with Sara Errani.
Now, she teamed up with Errani again in an attempt to seal the winning point for Italy against Poland. In the singles match, Swiatek bested Paolini, sending the tie into the last match.
In the quarter-finals, both Swiatek and Paolini dressed up to compete in doubles, and they were both victorious, but this time, only one could celebrate after the match.
Swiatek teamed up with Katarzyna Kawa, and the duo had a solid start to the match, having the first break point at 2-1. But they couldn't use their first chance of the match.
At 3-3, they had to face the first break point of the match, but the Poles saved it. That opened the door for them, working their way to three consecutive set points at 5-4, but they missed all of those chances.
That came back to haunt them. In the following game, the Polish duo was broken despite leading 40-15. Paolini and Errani were the better team at the end of the first set, winning it 7-5.
Still, there was a chance to come back in the second set for the Poles, but they didn't have an ideal start. They lost their serve already in the first game, falling behind 0-1.
After that, however, Swiatek and Kawa were unstoppable. They broke back and held their serve to lead 2-1. Then they applied the tested method of 'rinse and repeat,' and in no time, they found themselves up 5-1.
It seemed like Swiatek and Kawa were about to force the decider, but shockingly, they lost the massive lead. Paolini and Errani stormed back, winning six games in a row to steal the second set and win the match 7-5, 7-5.
To make matters even worse for the Polish team, Errani used an underarm serve on the match point, trying to catch Swiatek off-guard. The Pole returned the ball with her backhand but then missed a difficult volley, sending Italy to the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
It can be a historic run for the Italian team, which will now have a chance to properly rest before their final tie. In the final, they will take on the winners of the tie between Great Britain and Slovakia.
Once again, Paolini was the player who carried her country despite losing in the singles match, and after the match, she was obviously happy to send her country to the final of the competition.
"When I lost the singles match to Iga I was a bit sad. But I tried to go in the locker room and think positively about doubles. I knew I had the support of my whole team. I’m really happy about the win. Congrats to Poland. They’re a big team, a lot of Polish people cheering for Poland."
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